Dealer said No for transmission fluid change.

[Gero]

Strange the dealer wont take your money and just do it

Or take your money and not do it. Lol.

I'd be changing it myself, not too hard to do. The ass has to be raised way up.

 

[Ashton]

Or take your money and not do it. Lol.

I'd be changing it myself, not too hard to do. The ass has to be raised way up. View attachment 538248View attachment 538251

Nice . Did you go for brushed or all black?

 

[EdGs]

There's alot of opinions on dorman products. Personally i've had good luck with their products. Though IMO the ppe pan pays for itself in the long run. Also those skeptical of the filtran vs oem zf made pans. My 18 ram hemi had the filtran made in usa pan from the factory. So it just depends on budget and preference. I think all the plastic pans are on par.

When I serviced the trans on my '15 at around 100k miles, the original pan was a filtran, made in USA.


The OE replacement 68225344AA

 

[Gero]

Nice . Did you go for brushed or all black?

I went with the black with silver writing.

 

[Ashton]

Or take your money and not do it. Lol.

I'd be changing it myself, not too hard to do. The ass has to be raised way up. View attachment 538248View attachment 538251

Yea, what I did was keep the truck level and undo the trans crossmember bolts and raise the trans instead. Makes it a bit less sketchy to be under. Just my 2cents

 

[Turbo67]

I have an 2018 with about 73k on it. The dealership I bought mine from gave me a life time power train warranty. I wonder if they would have said the same thing to me.

 

[Wild one]

Yea, what I did was keep the truck level and undo the trans crossmember bolts and raise the trans instead. Makes it a bit less sketchy to be under. Just my 2cents

If the truck is level,and you just raised the transmission,you didn't get the pan rail level.I'd think running it through the gears and letting it shift into 2nd,would also be very sketchy with the transmission unbolted and sitting loose in the chassis.

 

[CanRebel]

Just my view. Unless you have tools and willing do it. I'd would just keep driving it. I know on this site, there are many backyard mechs that say it's easy, blah blah.
Not everyone can or wants to jack up their truck that high, do that kind of work.

"Lifetime" doesn't mean forever though. Many people have mentioned the ZF. says 60K miles or 8 years.
Ram isn't only one that says "Lifetime". BMW, Audi , etc... all say same.

Anyways.... If I was going to do it. I wouldn't go "cheap" as some people in this thread have mentioned.

 

[MRFREEZE57]

I did 3 drain and fills when doing a fluid change. The PPE pan makes it a lot easier as the drain plug is so easily accessible.

 

[Jeepwalker]

I'm surprised by now, no crafty entrepreneur has come up with an aftermarket pan with a dipstick/fill tube. Seems like an easy way to sell a new pan.

...or maybe someone has??

 

[Ashton]

If the truck is level,and you just raised the transmission,you didn't get the pan rail level.I'd think running it through the gears and letting it shift into 2nd,would also be very sketchy with the transmission unbolted and sitting loose in the chassis.

I did because i already lifted the truck with bias forward.I used a 2 post hoist to do mine

 

[El Guapo Phil]

I'm in Belize and the local Ram dealership is not the greatest, sorry to say. I changed out the pan/filter unit at my trusted mechanic shop about 2 years ago, 79k miles. I know it was early but the driving in Belize is taxing on vehicles.

It was my first fluid change. I had not idea about the filter not being removable from the pan. So had to buy a new pan and a removable new filter. I was told that this is the way the OEM pan and filter come and the replacement is much better since one can clean the pan and install a new filter. The cost was about $400 installed total.

 

[Wild one]

I did because i already lifted the truck with bias forward.I used a 2 post hoist to do mine

Still seems a little sketchy having the transmission unbolted while going through the gears. I've unbolted the transmission and raised it till it was hitting the transmission tunnel,and you don't get all that much lift out of the transmission,not enough to come anywhere near level,unless you have the rear tires a fair ways in the air already. I'd trust a set of jackstands ,under the rear diff with the front wheels chocked ,more then i'd trust having it on a 2 post lift with just a set of the arms picking up the frame,hopefully you at least chocked the front wheels.

 

[Wild one]

I'm surprised by now, no crafty entrepreneur has come up with an aftermarket pan with a dipstick/fill tube. Seems like an easy way to sell a new pan.

...or maybe someone has??

The fluid level is above the pan on the 8 speeds.If you google pics of where the fill plug is,you'll see it's quite aways above the pan rail.
I suppose you could make a pan,with a cast in tube that rises above the fill plug level and would accept a dipstick tube.

These pics show the fill plug,it's the round plug on the passenger / right side of the transmission with an allen key/ hex ,about an inch or so above the pan rail,towards the rear of the transmission.

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[Ashton]

Still seems a little sketchy having the transmission unbolted while going through the gears. I've unbolted the transmission and raised it till it was hitting the transmission tunnel,and you don't get all that much lift out of the transmission,not enough to come anywhere near level,unless you have the rear tires a fair ways in the air already. I'd trust a set of jackstands ,under the rear diff with the front wheels chocked ,more then i'd trust having it on a 2 post lift with just a set of the arms picking up the frame,hopefully you at least chocked the front wheels.

Well i guess we can leave it at that. You have your way and I have mine. I suppose every dealership is doing it wrong too. Cant say i see many techs working on their backs outside doing trans services. Also never claimed to drive through the gears with the trans completely suspended. So lets just move on. This back and fourth doesnt help anyone in the community, cheers

 

[Wild one]

Well i guess we can leave it at that. You have your way and I have mine. I suppose every dealership is doing it wrong too. Cant say i see many techs working on their backs outside doing trans services. Also never claimed to drive through the gears with the trans completely suspended. So lets just move on. This back and fourth doesnt help anyone in the community, cheers

You have to have the truck make the shift into 2nd gear,and raise the rpm to 2000,then step on the brakes,and you don't think that's going move an unbolted transmission around.
Personally i don't think your way is the way to do it,and all i'm doing is pointing out the pitfalls to your way,so other guys don't try it,so don't get your panties in a knot.
Out of curiousity,how many dealer techs,have you actually seen doing a service on an 8 speed,i'm guessing none,and alot of drive on hoists have the ability to pick the rear diff up off the ramps,after you're on the hoist.

 

[Ashton]

You have to have the truck make the shift into 2nd gear,and raise the rpm to 2000,then step on the brakes,and you don't think that's going move an unbolted transmission around.
Personally i don't think your way is the way to do it,and all i'm doing is pointing out the pitfalls to your way,so other guys don't try it,so don't get your panties in a knot.
Out of curiousity,how many dealer techs,have you actually seen doing a service on an 8 speed,i'm guessing none,and alot of drive on hoists have the ability to pick the rear diff up off the ramps,after you're on the hoist.

I like the way you put that bud. I never claimed anyone needs to do it like me. You are the one that puckered your ass when i used the word "sketchy" and made a big deal out of nothing. I personally dont like to crawl under a truck on a driveway on a slant, period. I dont want to escalate anything or get into a **** measuring contest because it solves nothing. There are many ways to skin a cat..

 

[Ashton]

All that aside OP should consider getting the service done.

 

[Wild one]

I like the way you put that bud. I never claimed anyone needs to do it like me. You are the one that puckered your ass when i used the word "sketchy" and made a big deal out of nothing. I personally dont like to crawl under a truck on a driveway on a slant, period. I dont want to escalate anything or get into a **** measuring contest because it solves nothing. There are many ways to skin a cat..

You seem to have that backasswards,lol. All i did was point out the pitfalls to your way of doing it,and you seemed to come slightly unglued over it
So your 2 post is bolted down on a slanted driveway,thats the way you're making it sound now.I'm gonna hazard a guess,you're 2 post is bolted down on a flat piece of concrete inside a garage,so why would you be doing it outside on a slanted driveway,when you could just move the lifts arms out of your way,and do it,on the concrete your post is bolted to.
The only time the rear tires are spinning,is when you're inside the truck,the rest of the time you're under the truck,it's in park,if you're that worried about it falling and running over you,set the park brake when you get under it. If it idles rough enough to vibrate itself off a set of jackstands with the front wheels chocked,you have way more issues to worry about then doing a transmission service.
If you're that big to be worried about being crushed under the truck with the tires still on it,throw some dunage / blocking under the wheels,so they're only an inch or 2 off the dunage,that way if it does fall off a set of jackstands,it only falls an inch or so.
You got one thing right,there's many ways to skin a cat,so don't get all wound up,over somebody pointing out the pitfalls to your dull knife way of skinning the cat
BTW i'm guessing you used a floorjack to prop the transmission up after you unbolted it,and what makes you think that's safe to do,better chance of the transmission vibrating off the jack and breaking something done that way,just saying

 

[Ashton]

You truely are a sad person to keep this useless and utterly pointless convo going. I'm not even going to entertain this anymore. Later keyboard warrior